As part of our 10th anniversary and Warrior Awards celebration, Songwriters of North America (SONA) is proud to introduce the Emerging Songwriter Warrior Award Presented by YouTube Songwriters—a new honor recognizing outstanding rising songwriters who are shaping the future of music. This award celebrates a SONA member who embodies originality, craft, and creative integrity. We’re excited to invite you to help us honor these inspiring voices by casting your vote for this year’s finalist. The winner will be announced live and in person at the 2025 SONA Warrior Awards on October 12th in Los Angeles.
Voting is open now through 12 P.M. PT on Friday, October 10. Please note the form only allows one vote per person.
Click here to vote for the 2025 Emerging Songwriter Awardee!
______________________________________________________________
Ali Stone
Ali Stone is a GRAMMY and five-time Latin GRAMMY–nominated, multi-platinum producer, singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, engineer, and artist from Colombia, who has become one of the most in-demand creative forces in Latin and global music. Named one of Billboard’s
Latin Hitmakers for three consecutive years and hailed by Dave Pensado & Diplo as “Pandora’s Box of music,” Ali defies genres and expectations with a style that blends pop, rock, alternative, and electronic sounds into something uniquely hers.
She first made waves remixing hits for Katy Perry, Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso, and Alok, while simultaneously scoring and sound-designing films such as Demental and Bendita Rebeldía. By 2015 she was the face and the anthem of Forever 21, and since then her live résumé has
included Lincoln Center, Electric Daisy Carnival, BMO Stadium, and opening for Justin Bieber’s Purpose World Tour.
Now based in Los Angeles, Ali has produced, written, and engineered for Diplo, Major Lazer, Young Miko, Bebe Rexha, RBD, Mary J. Blige, Danna, Sofia Reyes, Manuel Turizo, Natti Natasha, Luísa Sonza, Paty Cantú, Francisca Valenzuela, Flor De Toloache, LeAnn Rimes, Elena Rose, and many others, plus music for Disney, WhatsApp, Meta, Roland. Her catalog has surpassed 1.3 billion streams worldwide.
In 2024, Ali made history when her self-produced, written, played, recorded, mixed and mastered album Pandora became the first entirely solo-created project to ever receive a Latin GRAMMY nomination. It earned nods for Best Alternative Album, Best Rock Song (“Camaleónica”), and Best Pop/Rock Song (“Afilá”). She followed up with more trailblazing work, including the 2025 nod for Best Rock Song with “TRNA” from her album A Través Del Espejo. Ali has also worked as producer and engineer to GRAMMY-nominated albums like Monstruo by Cami and MotherFlower by Flor De Toloache.
Beyond the studio, Ali is a champion for equity and empowerment in music. She sits on the SoundBoard of Emily Lazar’s We Are Moving The Needle alongside Alanis Morissette, Imogen Heap, and HAIM; she’s an active supporter of Women Working for Women and the Playing for
Change Foundation; and she’s spoken at the United Nations x NEXUS Summit on gender equity and the power of music to create social change. She actively mentors the next generation of women in music through Live Nation, She Is The Music, Girls Make Beats, and other programs.
Blending virtuosity, innovation, and activism, Ali Stone stands as one of the defining creative voices of her generation: a true architect of sound and a trailblazer reshaping the future of music.
Alna
Alna is a Los Angeles-based songwriter, vocalist, and vocal producer whose melodic instincts and lyrical depth have made her a rising force in pop music. Growing up outside of Philadelphia, her childhood was filled with music - learning saxophone, honing her voice in vocal lessons, and performing original songs whenever she could. She went on to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston for two years before planting roots in Los Angeles, where she was discovered through social media and signed by acclaimed hit songwriters Sarah Hudson and JHart.
Alna’s recent releases include Demi Lovato’s latest single, “Here All Night” and Illenium’s “Forever,” which she co-wrote and features on alongside Tom Grennan. Other credits include Kylie Minogue (“Kiss Bang Bang”), Jenna Raine (“It Is What It Is,” “Lovesick”), Amelia Moore (“that’s all they really want”), Jax Jones, ILLIT, IVE, JEON SOMI, among others. Recently, she’s been in the studio with artists such as Bryant Barnes, Thomas LaRosa, Matt Hansen, Stephen Dawes, Amelia Moore, Madison Bailey, Joseph Lawrence, etc., and has upcoming cuts with Dove Cameron, Bebe Rexha, Tori Kelly, IVE, Hayes Warner, and more
Celebrated for her ability to create a safe and inspiring collaborative space, Alna continues to establish her distinctive voice as an emerging songwriter to watch.
bülow
After amassing over 1 billion streams, worldwide critical acclaim, and a Juno Breakthrough Artist of the Year 2019, bülow has learned to trust her gut when it comes to songwriting. She has been releasing music since 2017, and after her first single “Not A Love Song” went 2x platinum in Canada, has released several gold and platinum certified singles as well as 3 EPs under the bülow project. In addition to releasing her own music and touring, bülow has penned several hits for others, including Beyonce’s #1 Billboard charting single “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” , JENNIE and Dominic Fike’s “Love Hangover,” “Fortuna” with Anyma and Sevdaliza and “No Me Cansare” with Sevdaliza and Karol G, “SEESAW” and “Hi Hello” by TWICE, Charli XCX’s “Yuck”, and both “La Di Die” and ”madhouse" for Nessa Barrett. Bulow is releasing her debut album this fall and continues to write with and for other artists actively.
Sophie Hintze
Sophie Hintze is a #1 US Billboard songwriter who’s just launched her debut artist project.
Sophie grew up singing in New York and started professionally songwriting with BMG at 17-years-old. Throughout years of songwriting for other artists in Los Angeles, such as aespa, Twin Shadow, Kah-Lo, ENHYPEN, and Minke, Sophie has crafted a signature sound that she showcases with her own voice on her 2025 debut EP, Anyway,.
With 90+ releases as a songwriter in the US and internationally, Sophie’s songs have been #1 US Billboard on multiple charts, Top 5 US Billboard on multiple charts, #1 Billboard in Japan, debuted #1 in Korea, on #1 albums in 25+ countries, certified Platinum and Gold, broken Hanteo sales records, have accumulated over a billion streams across platforms, featured on numerous Spotify editorial playlists including New Music Friday, performed in arenas around the world, and can be heard in shows like “Never Have I Ever” (Netflix), “Gossip Girl” (HBO), “Basketball Wives” (VH1), “Love Island,” “Doom Patrol” (HBO), Fortnite Radio (Epic Games), and many more.
Sophie Hintze is also one of four members of the genre-defying self-written, produced, performed, engineered, all-female collective, FACTORY.
Toby Lightman
In our increasingly artificial world, Toby Lightman’s soulful voice, paired with her heartfelt and fiercely relatable songwriting, cuts through the noise and connects with people emotionally. Classically trained on the violin and self-taught on the guitar, Lightman didn’t realize her vocal gift until her high school graduation, when she performed her first solo. The crowd’s overwhelming response inspired her to buy her first guitar, which eventually led to a major record deal with Lava Records after college.
Her debut album Little Things landed on the Billboard Top 100 in its first week and earned comparisons to Lauryn Hill, Sheryl Crow, and Norah Jones. Lightman went on to receive praise from Rolling Stone, People, and Billboard; perform on Letterman, Carson Daly, Conan, and CBS Morning Show; and tour with artists including Rob Thomas, Jewel, Gavin DeGraw, Train, and Marc Cohn - even opening for her idol Prince in a career-defining moment.
Following in Prince’s footsteps, Lightman self-produced her 2022 album AFTER ALL. “Over the years, I had only worked with male producers because I didn’t know of any women producing. I didn’t want to share songs about my journey through pregnancy,loss, and motherhood, so I decided to teach myself how to produce,” says Lightman. As one of the few women entering the production space, she is dedicated to encouraging others to do the same. Through organizations like She Is the Music, Women in Music, Women Who Rock, and Mamas in Music, Lightman champions women to take control of their creative process. “It’s extremely empowering to write a song from the depths of my soul, with feelings that are genuinely mine, and then bring that song to life without the help of a male producer who most likely won’t connect at all,” she explains. “The studio should be a safe place for women. Yet we make up only 5% of all producers in the
music business, so it’s our job to empower women who want to take control of their creative destinies.”
Lightman is also deeply passionate about advocating for her fellow songwriters through organizations like SONA and as a newly elected Governor of the Recording Academy’s New York Chapter, where she co-chairs the Songwriting & Composing Committee. With
more than 100 placements across TV, film, and advertising, she has found great success not only with her own original recordings but also by composing and performing original music for broadcasts such as PBS’s Sesame Street and Donkey Hodie, American Girl, Hasbro’s My Little Pony and many more.
Currently, Lightman is writing and producing her next album, due in early 2026. Its first single, “Higher,” recorded by American Idol finalist Breanna Nix, reached #1 on the iTunes Country Chart, iTunes Top Songs Chart, and Billboard’s Christian Digital Song Sales chart. She followed with “Somebody’s Someone,” a mantra of comfort that blossoms into an uplifting journey of hope, and most recently “Count on Me,” a heartfelt ode to true friendship and resilience.